IIFYM may sound like some sort of computer language acronym, but it’s actually a new approach to dieting that promises a greater freedom of food choices without the loss of results. It stands for “If It Fits Your Macros,” which refers to the macronutrient content of the food you eat each day (carbs, proteins, fats).

“IIFYM, if not the most optimal dieting strategy, is certainly a good start, and will yield significant results if done properly.”

The basic tenet of IIFYM is that if you meet your prescribed daily totals of carbs, proteins and fats (and thus your total recommended calorie intake as well), you will successfully lose weight and body fat. The kicker: The types of foods you eat and the number of meals you consume per day matter much less than sticking to your prescribed macronutrient breakdown. IIFYM advocates say that if you meet your daily macros, whether it be from chicken breasts and brown rice or protein shakes and brownies, your diet will be a success. But is it too good to be true?

While IIFYM has both its supporters and detractors, research suggests individuals can, in fact, shed excess pounds without much regard to the types and frequencies of foods they eat, so long as they count the nutrients. This is possible because of all the variables that lead to diet success (including calorie balance, macronutrient amounts, nutrient timing and food composition), calorie balance and macronutrient amounts are by far the most important. Since IIFYM takes both into consideration, it puts the dieter in a very good position right out of the gate. Dr. Jennifer Case, who received her PhD in Nutrition from Kansas State University and is also a life-long combat athlete (most recently the 2013 IBJJF Masters Heavyweight World Champion) says that, “IIFYM, if not the most optimal dieting strategy, is certainly a good start, and will yield significant results if done properly.”

But don’t break out the ice cream in the name of fat loss just yet…

Made for Macros?

Before diving headfirst into the junk food drawer, there are three important factors in determining if IIFYM is right for you.

1. Counting Conundrum
The first consideration in order to find out if IIFYM might be a good fit is your ability and willingness to count, tally, add, subtract and divide macronutrient amounts in the foods you eat. In order to make room for that brownie and pizza, you have to find out how many more carbs and fats you’re allotted for the day. This requires closely reading nutritional labels on the backs of foods, and continuous counting (which can be especially difficult when eating out and nutritional information is not readily available). For many this can be totally doable, while those averse to numbers might rather just eyeball their portions. If you’re the counting type, IIFYM may be something to consider. If not, you might want to think twice.

2. The Simple Life
Some people have a strong aversion to simplified diets and prefer not to eat repeat meals of lean meat paired with a whole grain and a healthy fat source. Ground turkey with sweet potatoes and a drizzle of olive oil only tastes good for so long, after all. Others, however, find the monotony of dieting empowering in its simplicity; follow the guidelines and you’ll be freed from fixating on food. Prepping those identical pre-made meals and packing them in Tupperware, means they can focus on the rest of their lives instead of having to plan out how to integrate that side of fries into their daily food log. If you’re a stickler for routine, IIFYM might just be a needless headache. But if you feel boxed in by standard dieting and are better off with greater variety in taste and texture, IIFYM could be a more flexible option for you.

3. The Cheating Type
Last but not least, it’s important to factor in your “cheat food tolerance.” When dieting, people will find themselves somewhere on the spectrum of cheat food consumption. That is, some people absolutely thrive on a deliciously “sinful” snack from time to time, while to others, just one cookie can spiral into an impromptu binge session. In these moments of “weakness,” a single brownie can turn into a whole batch of brownies, a whole pizza, and a milkshake in a matter of hours. Delicious, amazing, yes — but also the potential source of a week’s worth of diet regression. If you feel re-energized by cheat foods, IIFYM is absolutely worth a try. If you already know that “once you pop, you can’t stop,” you might want to stick to conventional dieting and save the brownies for when you reach your goal!

The Bottom Line

IIFYM is an interesting new approach to the old challenges of dieting. With its injection of variety into the dieting landscape, it may just be what the doctor ordered for those fed up with conventional weight management. If your goal is to compete in a sport or even step on stage, the approach to your nutrition will likely be a bit more nuanced. However, if you’re looking to get fit or stay fit while still enjoying some of your favorite foods, it may be time to get to know your macros.

.. Any advice given on this board is just an opinion and not to be taken as medical advice. WCBB doesn't advocate or condone use of steroids. Check the laws in your country. WCBB just provides the platform in which to discuss such matters

Perhaps the most used acronym in the fitness industry now and days that has become the most popular trend or fad of dieting or eating in general has been concluded as “IIFYM”. The Term IIFYM stands for If it Fits your Macros, meaning that you can eat foods to meet your macronutrient needs in a given day using various sources. While some take this art and practice to an extreme in my own opinion there has to be a fine line met before people should expand on this acronym and take their food sources to a new level. Any chances if you do know or heard about IIFYM you see people eating junk food while dieting or pounding post-workout pop tarts, pixie sticks, or gummy bears to an extreme. In this article I am going to talk about what IIFYM is in my own words., what a macro is, how to set up your macros, and also how we can allocate certain foods once certain minimums are met. Until then lets unveil what this popular fad has to offer.

First of all what is a macro, and how do we determine them? A macronutrient is a component of any diet that is broken down into larger amounts of Protein, Carbs, and Fat. Macro’s also compose of the micronutrients we consume such as zinc, vitamins, minerals, iron, magnesium, calcium, and phosphorous. In any case the IIFYM or should we say “Flexible Dieting” as another term has made a statement to people using different food sources besides the traditional bodybuilding foods we claim that are eggs, oatmeal, broccoli, veggies, fruits, rice, potatoes, and so forth and so on with using things including yogurt, cereal, poptarts, pixie sticks, ice cream sandwiches, trail mix, granola, pancake mix, and other store bought goods or processed foods that would be considered a major no no to most who take their diet serious.

Now IIFYM is based around meeting those macronutrients correct? How should we structure our Macronutrients and what are the minimums we should consider? First of all Protein, Fat, and Fiber minimums are without a doubt the most important things to reach for. Protein I Suggest at least 1g/lb as many natural athletes that are gym trainees would aim for, Fat I would consider at least 20% to help with overall hormone and brain function, and the rest carbohydrates. When Protein and fat minimums are met carbs in excess (especially bulking) can aid protein synthesis and also are protein sparing. Fiber on the other hand I always suggest at least 30-40g, this may get tricky when dieting and on extreme amount of calories, but for most people this should be easy to hit with vegetables, fruits, and various other sources they may eat in a given day. Especially those “Clean” eaters or whatever that means that eat a ton of oatmeal (Fiber), veggies, and use things like potatoes or whole grains that are higher in fiber.

For me personally I can maintain myself on around 2700-3000 kcals. So I set up my diet:

So this leaves me with around 2850 kcals which is right smack in the middle. With that said IIFYM or Flexible Dieting would proclaim that as long as I hit these macros it does not matter if I get my protein from egg whites, chicken, or fatty ground beef…my carbohydrates from pixie sticks, potatoes or little Debbie snacks….my fats from oil’s and nut butters or getting them from ice cream. In the end remember it is if I Hit my macros and I will be able to lose fat and build muscle as desired.

You are probably thinking how could that ever work, how can one eat pop tarts, ice cream, cereal, and still make their diet work and have a decent body composition while maintaining, gaining, or losing weight? The thing is this goes a lot deeper than what people see when they see pictures of these “Junk foods” they like to call them. The first thing to address is calories in and calories out and of course like I have stated before, proper protein, fiber, and fat minimums. Everyday your body is constantly burning calories weather it is via exercise, NEAT (non-exercise physical activity, grocery shopping, cardio, and other forms of activity. The amount of calories you burn with all of those activities added up would be the calories you burned (calories out), in order to maintain your weight you need to input those amount of calories that you did burn (calories in). Going back to my initial point of meeting protein, fiber and fat minimums based off your caloric intake will vary on the amount you need to intake, and how much you burn based off your profession and how active you truly are. Someone doing 1 hour of cardio at the end of a contest prep may be eating nothing but the bare minimums, but someone in the offseason doing only 20 minutes of cardio and working out only 4x a week may not burn as much, but may have a much stronger metabolism because they are not in a contest prep and they are trying to add size, so the overall variance is key here in the goal and intake amount. The energy each individual needs will be the same because they are trying to attain a goal it is just how they allocate those calories to suit their satiety and meeting their minimums.

So lets talk about that person dieting. Could that person eat a piece of candy, or have some cereal and still lose weight? Absolutely and why is that? Because they are in taking less calories than their body needs and therefore keeping them in a deficit. Could they have a donut and a Twinkie and still lose weight? Absolutely, but again lets face the facts. Is it going to be 100% optimal to do this on a daily basis or even attempt to fit this in considering their overall caloric intake? You have probably seen some extreme examples in real life of people eating big macs everyday and maintaining their weight…people eating Twinkies everyday and losing 27 pounds…Jared eating sub way subs and losing 100+ pounds. Why is this? Because they in took less calories than their body needed and they ended up losing weight. Relating this back to a gym trainee and trying to meet proper protein and fat intake may differ, especially fiber intake because some of these treats may take up a large chunk of kcals and making it difficult to try and find a balance of other “Cleaner” or “Healthier” foods to fill in the remainder of their calories. Remember those that try to eat a lot of junk when dieting may not be doing themselves a favor as far as body composition goes and retaining muscle, but could it work to lose some weight? Absolutely. Eating the majority of your carbs from those Twinkies and missing out on micros in broccoli or fruits could be detrimental. The same could be said with trying to slam a bunch of Five Guys for your protein and carbs (fries and buns) where you could invest in some leaner chicken and egg whites to try and balance out your diet again for proper body composition.

This is why I am not a major advocate of IIFYM and trying to get to very lean levels of bodyfat. This is where you start to really mess up your micronutrients and satiety at the same time. Skittles, Twinkies, and other sugar laced goods will leave you craving more, and most of the time will cause people to fall off their diet because of doing so. Doing this will cause vitamin and mineral deficiencies which can lead to health problems in the future and another reason why a lot of Americans are having problems keeping their health in check now. Larger intake of simple sugars as carbs also shows it will lead to chronic disease and diabetes. Going out and trying to eat McDonald’s when dieting may not be optimal because higher fat or trans fat found in those burgers could also lead to heart disease, diabetes and infertility when trying to diet down. Now while this should not be a daily thing some people may try to find a way to fit this in and then eat nothing but egg whites and broccoli the rest of the day to compensate. Not an ideal thing to do, and a reason why IIFYM or Flexible Dieting can get a bad reputation. The main point here especially related towards dieting is your health matters. Now lets talk about how to properly utilize IIFYM with meeting proper protein, fiber, and fat minimums where more towards a maintenance phase or bulking phase can give that individual more leeway.

Now if we talk about someone who is not dieting, a general gym goer, or someone more on a surplus, my suggestions may be a bit more lenient towards the IIFYM crowd because of excess calories compared to be very restricted. Even with that being said my principles will still never change in the grand scheme of things. I am still a major advocate of meeting micronutrients, fiber, fat and protein minimums first and foremost. With that said most of your intake will be mostly whole foods and those that are on the “healthier side”. For instance I will eat some eggs + Veggies to get some fat and protein and fiber in me for a meal, then maybe have a bowl of rice with veggies and then some kind of a protein treat I baked on the side (with pancake mix, sf/ff pudding mix, pb lean or pb2) and topped with some jam or syrup that may be considered dirty to some but in the end I am still varying good sources with other sources to help reach my caloric and macronutrient target. Later at night I may have a 94/6-turkey burger, with some white potatoes and more veggies on the side, then a small protein yogurt (pudding) bowl with whey protein and yogurt mixed together. If I have extra kcals I like to toss in some cereal, granola for crunch, and berries or fruit for volume (to help with micronutrients). These are just some staple meals that I want to show you how flexible your diet can be to help reach macros and also micros.

Now the biggest problem I am seeing is that people will try to stuff themselves stupid on veggies and low fat protein sources like chicken or egg whites so they can just fit in a pop tart and then post pictures all over their instagram or facebook and they caption” I am dieting and eating this” when in reality they planned their whole day of food around 20 seconds of glory to eat a pop tart or a toaster strudel. Doing something like this is not that beneficial or healthy as far as a relationship with food goes, and it also may lead to eating disorders or a binge later in the day because of how drastic the cutback was earlier. So what would the best solution be to this? Try to have steak instead of chicken and fit things like this into your meal plan. Every now and then I will crave some Italian because my grandmother is 100% Italian and I will throw in some whole wheat or white pasta into one of my heavier carb meals to help kill the craving but cut back on carbs either in a pre-workout meal or a later meal in the day to make up for it. Yogurt is a staple for me year round, but if I want a flavored yogurt to compliment a protein flavor or a berry/fruit mix in again I will cut back carbs to help insert that food source in for that given meal.

Some other things that I do see with a lot of gym goers is their fear of moderation or indulging. Just because they are on some kind of diet or track their calories they think certain foods are non-existent or should never be consumed.

“Oh I cannot eat that I am trying to lose weight”
“Bread, Carbs, those are not on my diet”
“If I ate one cookie I would eat all of them”

If this is what you are saying or what you hear saying, then you need to try and explain to them some of the guidelines in this article. If the majority of your intake (like I stated 80% or so) comes from healthy foods and you want a small piece of chocolate then you can allocate some calories and cut back from some of the other sources to fit in a smaller piece of chocolate to help kill the craving or indulgence that may lead to a bigger downfall.

A great tip I have found to help with this is to try and play with your meal timing and frequency. Since most of the foods we crave will be high in calories, try cutting back meal frequency (instead of say 6 to 4 meals a day or 5 to 3 meals a day). Remember Eating every 2-3 hours is a myth. Research done by layne Norton on muscle protein synthesis which has been backed by Jacob Wilson, has shown that meals spread 4-6 hours apart are most optimal for muscle protein synthesis. Alan Aragon has an incredible article on “How much protein can you eat per meal” regarding the size of the meal and digestion time. Your metabolism will not tank every 2-3 hours if you do not eat, You can even head over to leangains.com and read the top 10 fasting myths debunked by martin Berkhan as a refresher and enough studies to make your head blow up showing how MPS (Muscle protein Synthesis) may be better with larger feedings spread out to help allow protein levels to reach their refractory levels before being spiked again.

Hopefully this article was an eye opener for some, and for others it may be brushing up some of the things they have already known or practiced. Moderation is a lost art in many forms not just food. Implementing some of the tactics in this article may be a god sent for some, and for others it may lead to a few downfalls because of an unhealthy practice or relationship with food in the past. Remember you do not need to eat every 2-3 hours of nothing but unprocessed, no carbs, no sugar, and lean proteins to make progress. Try and utilize some principles of flexible dieting, modify your meal frequency or timing, try different food sources, and in the end see how your body responds and enjoy some good eats!By Bob Kupnieski

.. Any advice given on this board is just an opinion and not to be taken as medical advice. WCBB doesn't advocate or condone use of steroids. Check the laws in your country. WCBB just provides the platform in which to discuss such matters

is there a condensed version. I am totally ADHD and only got a paragraph in before I started thinking about lunch.

LMAO!!.. basic theory is you only need to worry about the 3 macros.. which will if done right come in at the correct total cals too.. there are only 3 macros ...protein. carbs and fat... if i'm shooting for 210g of protein, 78g of fat, 320g of carbs daily.. just hit those numbers. or very close.. and if you calculated your macros right you will make progress

like a budget... if i spend 150g of my carbs in one meal.. i have 170g left to "spend"... so i have to keep that in mind when eating the rest of my cals..etc..

__________________
eat clen... tren hard.. forced reps are best done on your own

LMAO!!.. basic theory is you only need to worry about the 3 macros.. which will if done right come in at the correct total cals too.. there are only 3 macros ...protein. carbs and fat... if i'm shooting for 210g of protein, 78g of fat, 320g of carbs daily.. just hit those numbers. or very close.. and if you calculated your macros right you will make progress

like a budget... if i spend 150g of my carbs in one meal.. i have 170g left to "spend"... so i have to keep that in mind when eating the rest of my cals..etc..

that was way better than the article. it makes sense.

but calories differ, fat has 2X as many calories per gram than protein or carbs. is that factored in?